Last weekend I went up with my truck's bed full of wood I had found in my neighborhood and other places. I got to play lumberjack and use my chainsaw to cut everything down to size for the potbelly stove. I must say it was nice to look at the neatly arranged wood pile once I was done. Should be enough wood for next winter and nothing like sweaty, honest manual labor to make a man feel good.
There was a homeowners meeting that weekend. Well, from the beginning participants called into question the validity of the meeting since a majority was not present. It was then declared that this was a "non-meeting" and so after much debate we moved on to the issues at hand, that is road maintenance mostly. In essence, people don't want rules and fees: no architectural review board, no can't do this, no directors or executives, no mandatory fees, no this, and no that. True independents they are. It's true that to go into the Old West and get the same as we do in town is not very appealing.
Look at this. Ain't it pretty?
The grass around the oak trees at the cabin was knee high so I got to take out my tractor and mow. I then did a little yard trimming with my weed-whacker but not too much in order to let the wildflowers come out. I contemplated getting my ladder and saw to cut off the mistletoe on some of the oak trees but that will be for another time. Instead, I sat on the porch and enjoyed the beautiful skies and clean air while sipping on a gin and tonic. Good work deserves a little treat after all.
In the evening I had nothing planned so I watched Terms of Endearment. I had never seen that Academy Award-winning film but I enjoyed it for the characters, the story and the way it was shot. True, I fell asleep midway but I watched the rest the day after. It's funny how the pace slows down up there. One gets right into Nature's cycle very quickly: I get up and go to bed earlier. On Saturday night I went to my neighbors and friends Pam and Andy and we were falling asleep while talking so the evening ended at 9 p.m.. A nice cozy fire and fine glass of wine will do that to most people.
Speaking of neighbors and neighborliness... Walker Basin still has that. Here's an example. I had gone by Andy's one time and happened to see his burn pile. He had cut down a dead oak tree for another neighbor, gotten the logs he needed and had a bunch of smaller ones he was going to burn. Perfect size for my stove. I asked him if I could take them and he said of course, let me a couple chainsaws and let's get her done. I couldn't as this was Sunday and I had to shut everything dow so I said next time I'm up.
Pretty as well, right?
I missed a weekend going up so next time I was up, I called Andy and asked him if he still had the wood. He said no worries, I'll be over. He came with a wagon full of oak he had cut and saved for me.
Another example. After the incident, and after I had fixed most everything, I still needed to replace a few floor boards on the porch. I had told my neighbor George about where I was with the project and he said just leave the wood out on the porch, and that he and Jeremy (his son-in-law) would take care of it. I didn't because I didn't want to abuse his kindness. My son came up next instead of me. I called to check on him and he said George and Jeremy had asked about the wood, he had told them where it was (the garage,) they got it out and got it all done. I must say I'm not used to that anymore but it feels really good to see that still in some parts of the country, people are nice, helpful and care about others. Redemption for the rest of 'em.
'Til next time,
HIllbilly Wally
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